'The godfather of Australian crime fiction.' Cliff Hardy, with his PI licence cancelled and his career in Sydney at an end, is preparing for a trip overseas. Cleaning out his office, he comes across an open file - an unresolved case from the late 1970s. He starts reading and is thrown back to his investigation of the disappearance of Justin Hampshire. At first glance a straightforward missing person matter, the investigation took on twists and turns involving military history, Sydney criminals and corruption at high levels. The Hampshire case took Cliff from the south coast to the Blue Mountains and posed some unresolved questions which have preyed on his mind for 20 years . . . Praise for Appeal Denied: 'This book will remind you just how good Peter Corris is, what a legend his private-detective character Cliff Hardy is and why so many people love Sydney despite the fact that she is a seedy, grotty old tart of a city and always has been.' - Sydney Morning Herald